Apex Automotive

Seattle, United States

4.7

17 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 206-784-8292
Website:
apexballard.com
Address:
826 NW 49th St, Seattle, WA, 98107
b/t 8th Ave NW & 9th Ave NW
Ballard
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
440 ft8th Ave NW & NW 50th St
450 ft8th Ave NW & NW 51st St
0.3 miNW Market St & 8th Ave NW
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Today

Today –
Local time (Seattle) 3:06 AM Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We have been serving the local community for 40 years. We pride ourselves in being a trustworthy auto maintenance and repair shop, servicing your domestic and import vehicles including European vehicles.

Why come to Apex? We keep you on the road during repairs/​maintenance with one our Free Loaner Cars. For repairs: we diagnose problems with your car and take the time to explain what your car needs in order of safety, drivability, longevity and efficiency. We realize that owning a car can be expensive and we try our best to help you budget for future maintenance and repairs that can be fixed at a later date. We work with you to keep your car safe and efficient for as long as you own your car. Never be without a car-​Free Loaner Cars.

We specialize in a wide range of services including:

Brakes

Timing Belts /​Chains

Electrical Diagnosis

Mechanical Diagnosis

Power Steering Flush

Brake Fluid Flush

Tune Up

Coolant Flushes

Suspension /​Steering

History

Established in 1969.

This autoshop started in 1969 and has operated in this location since 1984 when it moved. We purchased the shop in 2008 and have modernized the operations to better handle newer cars and a more diverse group of cars.

Meet the Business Owner

John V.

Business Owner

John has lived in Seattle for over 20 years and enjoys being part of the Ballard community. Since he was a little kid he has always had a mind for business. In an effort to build a better community business at Apex Automotive, John has instilled in his employees that honesty and fairness are required to succeed. This is evident when people come to Apex. John is also involved in the Ballard Chamber of Commerce and Seattle’s office of Economic Development to help Ballard be one of Seattle’s best neighborhoods. John lives in Ballard with his partner Aria and their daughter Zoe.

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17 reviews of Apex Automotive

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Fantastic oil change service! Very friendly! They even replaced a broken brakelight for free– and the Mini dealer was going to charge $ 60 or so!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Great service, accurate quotes and they keep you informed of the work they are doing along the way.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Its not often that you get to write a rave review for a mechanic, and I’ll be very honest here, me being a tall blonde female often colors the way a mechanic may report car information to me. These guys are straight up! I originally found them on Unilocal and went based on their reviews and I am never going back. They have always quoted me fair on any work Ive had done on my ’98 Volvo S90 and have given me a heads up on why things may be in need of repair and what is coming down the line. When I have been honest with them about budget and cost, they have talked to me about timelines, when things need to be done for safety reasons, and when I could possibly wait to save $$ and do more pressing things first. ALWAYS return my calls, even when I ask a lot of questions, ALWAYS engage me in the conversation about my car and its needs offering me a lot of information so that I know my car better.
Peter is the main guy at the front and who runs things for the most part, I’ve also met John the owner when I had to come in the day before Thanksgiving and he helped me out personally (the owner at work the day before holiday? I was impressed!)
If you want a neighborhood mechanic to go to for all your needs, reliable honest guys to take care of your car and help you feel safe, I recommend Apex. I moved from Ballard but will keep coming back to these guys. As another reviewer mentioned, I too keep their cards with me and offer them to my friends and co-​workers with needs. I feel lucky to have found great down to earth people who will help me care for my car, while not going broke!
Place rating: 5
Woodinville, WA
I didn’t haev them work on my car, but I really liked what the owner had to say and felt like they would do a great job for me. I will contact them again the next time I need service.
Place rating: 1
Asheville, NC
I left feeling ripped off. I was charged $ 418 for replacement of my windshield wiper motor. A quick Google search tells me this job should cost around $ 150-​$ 300. The breakdown was:
— Around $ 240 for the motor (A part I found online brand new for only $ 85. Even assuming they paid $ 50 more than that, their markup on the part was over $ 100).
— The labor was around $ 100 — This I felt was about right.
— The «diagnostic» was $ 60! Perhaps this is common for this area, but I have never in my life been charged for a «diagnostic» if they end up doing the job. It just seemed like another way to gouge me.
The worst part was how I was treated by the guy at the front desk. Every point I brought up about costs was met with a comically confused response as if I was from another planet. Rather than address my concerns professionally, he projected this defense and spoke down to me like a child.
BTW, this is my first 1-​Star review.
AVOID.
Place rating: 5
Mt Hermon, CA
I can not say enough good things about the guys at Apex Automotive. My Subaru blew a sparkplug while I was in the foreign land of Seattle (I’m from Santa Cruz, CA), and I am so lucky I found these guys to help me out. Peter was amazing and probably the most helpful guy I’ve come into contact with. Just amazingly friendly. All the other guys were great at what they did and incredibly knowledgable. Peter gave me a quote for the car, and when they called me with the bill, it was actually under the low end of the quote! When does that ever happen.
Once again, not enough good things can be said. if you live in Seattle, or anywhere in Washington for that matter, you must go to Apex if you are looking for honesty and quality work. Thanks guys!!!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I love these guys so much I actually carry their cards in my car and give them to people when they ask about my car.
I’ve seriously driven my car into the shop without appointment and they welcome me in with open arms.
Most every time i’m here they take me into the shop with them and show me what they have been working on. Sometimes it’s even not related to my car. These guy are Passionate people who love what they do and equally love their customers.
Just take your car here ok, don’t second guess, don’t shop around just do it. You’ll have a mechanic for life!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
THe guys at Apex are great and informative. THey go over everything with you after their inspection. THey let you know issues you might need to address in the future and do not sale you anything you don’t need. I take all my cars to Apex.
I got my duaghter to start taking her car into them and they took great care with her.
They helped her determine what needs to be done and a time frame step by step to help her stay within her budget.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I have taken my car to Apex Automotive for the last year and a half and am totally happy with the service I receive. Peter at the service desk is a super great person to work with and does a great job following up with questions I have had. My car has had some quirky problems that they needed to investigate and they came up with the solutions and charged me a reasonable amount. It is so nice to know I have a great repair shop to take my car to for the basic oil change or for the mystery problem that comes up. Thanks guys!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I had heard from my brother that this was a quality shop. I had concerns about my Subaru using oil so I brought it in. They did some testing and eased my fears which I really appreciated. I then asked them to do a 60k service and look into a squeak. The took on the job right away even though they hadn’t planned for it. When the squeak turned out to be a bigger problem they gave me estimates on what it would take and explained what the issue was. As it turned out I spent less than I expected to. This is not to say that this shop is cheap, it isn’t, bit the quality honesty, speed and communication are supreme and that is what I value most. In the end my car came back running better in more ways than I expected. Where I work the motto is: ‘the customer deserves to get a little more than they paid for.’ I think this also holds for Apex.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Amazing. I thought I would wake up my dormant Unilocal account to tell everyone. My Audi was was setting off the head light warning light. They nailed down the trouble right away and fixed it for a very reasonable price.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I see I’m not the first to praise these guys. I’ve been coming to this garage since it was owned and run by Odvaar. There was an interim owner who let the business slide until the current ownership came in and resurrected it (and cleaned the restroom:). I couldn’t be happier. I actually enjoy taking my car in for maintenance. Alan, Andrew, Peter, and the rest are low key and smart. They’re happy to explain things, help you out, print out estimates before the work gets going, and they make things work. They don’t pad things. Pleasant, honest, competent mechanics are worth an awful lot, and these guys are the real deal.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
Thanks again for your help, folks! I had the good fortune of needing some work done on my old Alfa Romeo. I was working next to Apex and noticed all the cool project cars neatly scattered behind the shop. I’m sort of a secret fan of British mini cars…
Anyway, Alan and his crew are all excellent people and clever mechanics. Pricing was fair and they kept in touch with me to make sure that the process was as transparent as possible. There were no surprises.
This is definitely my new shop in Seattle. They even have free wireless and a cool display of vintage automotive products in the waiting room.
Place rating: 5
King, WA
Incredible shop! I have only been sending my car to Apex for a couple of months, but they have been incredible. I got back into town last week to find that the alternator on my car was out and I needed a new one as soon as possible. I called them up at noon, had my car towed over and by the end of the day, I was able to pick my car up with the new alternator in. These guys are on the ball with fast, high quality auto care and excellent customer service.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
I miss Oddvar. I’ll come clean about that. The new guys don’t chase jerks out of the shop with such vigor, but the quality is still spot on. The only reason I didn’t give the fifth star was a bit of overpriced service for my ex’s XC70. They didn’t exactly take advantage of her, but there was stuff that they ought to have let her postpone on a couple of occasions, and a few gratuitous parts changes here and there. Nothing dishonest, just a little excessive. Then again, Oddvar’s key trait was to be an HMO for your car, not a just-​in-​time fixit guy.
They’re technically the best in the area, and perfectly willing to work with you on interesting configurations and aftermarket doodads (not nutty boy-​racer stuff, just ipd belly pans and suspension upgrades), which the likes of Daisywagen just won’t deal with. They’ll be my choice until the new version of Oddvar chases me off too.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
The employees there are polite, know what they are doing and the price is right…
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
These guys are the best! i’ve taken my volvo here twice after the new ownership and they are awesome. We took the car to Oddvar’s (previous owner) for 10 years or so and they are continuing his legacy for great service with zero B.S.
You Guys Rock!!!